Aleister Black officially won’t be wrestling at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV later this month.
WWE released a video this afternoon where William Regal confirmed that Black is off the show. Regal announced that NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa will now defend his title against Johnny Gargano in a last man standing match at TakeOver.
Black suffered a legitimate injury that required surgery after being crotched by Ciampa at an NXT house show in Las Vegas on July 28. Ciampa defending against Black and Gargano in a triple threat match was originally supposed to be the main event of TakeOver: Brooklyn. It was announced on last night’s episode of NXT, but WWE then wrote Black out of the match by shooting an angle where he was attacked in the parking lot at Full Sail University.
WWE hasn’t revealed who attacked Black in storyline. They put out a video with more footage from the angle today, teasing more wrestlers being in the area when the attack happened.
Ciampa defeated Gargano in a street fight at TakeOver: Chicago in June and won the NXT Championship from Black on a TV episode in July. At TakeOver: New Orleans in April, Gargano defeated Ciampa in an unsanctioned match.
TakeOver: Brooklyn will be held at the Barclays Center on August 18. Here’s the updated card:
NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa defending against Johnny Gargano in a last man standing match
NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler defending against Kairi Sane
NXT North American Champion Adam Cole defending against Ricochet
NXT Tag Team Champions Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong defending against Tyler Bate & Trent Seven
Velveteen Dream vs. EC3